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The Bassoon Pedagogy and Publications of Simon Kovar

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The Bassoon Pedagogy and Publications of Simon Kovar THE BASSOON PEDAGOGY AND PUBLICATIONS OF SIMON KOVAR DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Amy L. Bassett, B.M., M.M. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2007 Document Committee: Approved by Professor Christopher Weait, Advisor Professor R. J. David Frego, Advisor _____________________________ Adviser Professor Katherine Borst Jones _____________________________ Professor Robert Sorton Adviser Music Graduate Program Copyright by Amy Lynn Bassett 2007 ABSTRACT Simon Kovar was one of the principal bassoon pedagogues in the United States between 1923 and 1957. Born in 1890 in Vilna, Russia, he attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory to study violin with Leopold Auer. At Alexandre Glazunov’s suggestion, due to the Bolshevik Revolution and the onset of World War I, Kovar switched to bassoon. He emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he became a member of the New York Philharmonic from 1923 to 1949. Kovar then devoted his time to teaching at a number of prominent colleges and universities. In 1948 he began editing music for the International Music Company in order to make the music he taught more readily available and to avoid spending valuable lesson time changing the music. When Kovar retired from his teaching positions in 1957, he and his family moved to Encino, California, where he lived until his death in 1970. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following people for their help with this project: Bernard Garfield Harrington E. Crissey, Jr. Dr. David Frego Alan Goodman Katherine Borst Jones Benjamin Kamins Joshua Kovar Leo Kovar Margarita Mazo Richard Meek Ludmila Milchakova (St. Petersburg Conservatory) Karen Pierson Mark Popkin Frank Powers Marvin Roth John Shamlian Robert Sorton Richard Wandel (New York Philharmonic Associate Archivist) Christopher Weait (Professor Emeritus) iii VITA September 26, 1980 ……………………………Born – Barre, Massachusetts 2002 …………………………………………… B.M., Ithaca College 2004 …………………………………………… M. M., University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2002 –2004 ……………………………………. Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada 2002 – 2004 …………………………………… Executive Director The Endangered Instrument Program Las Vegas, Nevada 2004 – 2006 …………………………………… Adjunct Professor of Bassoon Heidelberg College Tiffin, Ohio 2004 – 2007 …………………………………… Graduate Teaching Assistant The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Music iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii Vita..................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………..viii Chapters: 1. Introduction............................................................................................................11 2. Method ...................................................................................................................13 3. Simon Kovar’s Early Life and Emigration ............................................................15 4. New York Philharmonic ........................................................................................18 5. Path to Teaching ....................................................................................................24 6. Kovar’s Approach to Teaching..............................................................................26 7. The Structure of Lessons .......................................................................................27 8. Teaching Concepts and Their Relationship to Leopold Auer................................29 9. 24 Daily Studies .....................................................................................................32 10. Reeds......................................................................................................................46 11. Students’ Reflections About Their Lessons...........................................................47 v 12. Editions ..................................................................................................................50 13. Summary................................................................................................................67 14. Questions Raised By This Study............................................................................69 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................70 APPENDICES APPENDIX A....................................................................................................................73 Published Editions of Works According to Koenigsbeck APPENDIX B ....................................................................................................................78 Timeline of Kovar’s Editions APPENDIX C ....................................................................................................................80 Comparison Study of the Fred Bettoney Edition and the Simon Kovar Edition of the 25 Studies in Scales and Chords by Ludwig Milde APPENDIX D....................................................................................................................85 Reinhold Gliere’s Impromptu, Opus 35, No.9 APPENDIX E ....................................................................................................................88 Correspondence between Harrington E. Crissey, Jr. and Ludmila Milchakova of the St. Petersburg Conservatory APPENDIX F.....................................................................................................................92 Correspondence with Richard Wandel, New York Philharmonic Associate Archivist APPENDIX G....................................................................................................................94 Questions for the Study of Simon Kovar vi APPENDIX H....................................................................................................................96 Interviews APPENDIX I ...................................................................................................................114 A List of Premiered Works During Simon Kovar’s Last Seven Seasons in the New York Philharmonic vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 9.1 ................................................................................................................................33 9.2 ................................................................................................................................33 9.3 ................................................................................................................................33 9.4 ................................................................................................................................34 9.5 ................................................................................................................................35 9.6 ................................................................................................................................35 9.7 ................................................................................................................................36 9.8 ................................................................................................................................36 9.9 ................................................................................................................................37 9.10 ................................................................................................................................37 9.11 ................................................................................................................................38 9.12 ................................................................................................................................38 9.13 ................................................................................................................................39 9.14 ................................................................................................................................39 9.15 ................................................................................................................................40 9.16 ................................................................................................................................40 9.17 ................................................................................................................................41 viii 9.18 ................................................................................................................................41 9.19 ................................................................................................................................42 9.20 ................................................................................................................................42 9.21 ................................................................................................................................42 9.22 ................................................................................................................................43 9.23
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